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American presidents always avoid shaking hands with brutal dictators, except when it's advantageous to do so. FDR shook hands with Stalin and Nixon shook hands with Mao. In both cases, those friendly gestures signified a larger strategic endeavor, namely to establish a compact in order to diminish the power of a foe seen as more dangerous and threatening, in the former case, Nazi Germany, in the latter, the Soviet Union. Handshakes provide highly symbolic photo ops that signal a much larger geopolitical strategy designed to enhance American power in the international system. These handshakes among world leaders can imply a thaw, a rapprochement, a detente or the beginning of a new economic and political compact. Certainly, Nixon's cordial visit with Mao initiated a long-term relationship with China and, despite Mao's bloody record and long-standing image as the implacable foe of the United States, the two nations moved forward with a partnership whose consequences are still being felt and analyzed today.

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